bob cupp
How the bid to make it harder to amend Ohio’s constitution fell apart
Just before lawmakers took off for Thanksgiving last year, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, held a press conference. Details ahead of time were scant, but the advisory promised “reforms which will better protect Ohio’s constitution.” What they unveiled would dominate the chaotic final weeks of the lame duck legislative […]
Resolution requiring supermajority for amendments “doubtful” to pass during Ohio lame duck session
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered across the street from the Ohio Statehouse Tuesday morning at Trinity Episcopal Church. The leaders of more than 100 organizations toted signs listing their name and membership. “Our goal is to make it really clear how unpopular House Joint Resolution 6 is,” Common Cause Ohio’s Catherine Turcer said as she led […]
Amid protest, Ohio GOP says bill to make it harder to amend constitution lacks votes to pass
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. A resolution to require a 60% supermajority vote in order for constitutional amendments […]
Campaigns brimming with optimism ahead of Tuesday election
In the final weekend of the midterms, every campaign believes the race is coming their way. Whether honest assessment or false bravado, they’ll readily explain how this poll or those returns are good for their prospects. From the outside looking in, it’s as though the biggest threat now is not a gaffe or a new […]
Ohio GOP leaders push U.S. Supreme Court to give them free rein to rig elections with gerrymandering
All the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling party in Ohio is appealing for absolute power to rig federal elections in the state. Ohio Republicans want the Ohio Supreme Court removed as an arbiter of constitutional compliance for congressional district maps that break all the rules of fairness. They don’t give a damn […]
Ohio Republican legislative leaders appeal congressional map to U.S. Supreme Court
Ohio Republican legislative leaders have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court a bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court ruling that the state’s Republican-drawn U.S. Congressional map being used for the 2022 Election is unconstitutional. The map was passed along party lines in a vote of the Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) after the Republican supermajority General Assembly failed […]
Republican leaders tax Ohioans with costly second primary for rigged Statehouse districts
To market members of the Grand Old Party as money-saving, by-the-book, principled conservatives must be a Herculean task in Ohio. Especially after state Republican officials blew a giant hole in their party brand with an election held for no good reason last Tuesday. Their part deux primary — that nobody knew about — destroyed any […]
Ohio’s most powerful elected politicians are morally and ethically bankrupt
We aren’t living in the Ohio that most Ohioans want. We are living in the Ohio that corrupt politicians obsessed only with maintaining and maximizing their power, and enriching themselves and their donor friends, want us to live in. This week, the gerrymander-rigged Ohio General Assembly fast-tracked legislation to put more guns in Ohio public […]
Bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court majority rejects partisan Statehouse redistricting maps for fifth time
Ohio House and Senate district maps previously passed by Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission and previously ruled unconstitutional remain invalid, a bipartisan 4-3 majority on the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. Declining to hold commissioners in contempt, the court ordered the Ohio Redistricting Commission be reconstituted to draft and adopt new General Assembly […]
How much a map costs: one law firm accounts for 1/3 of redistricting expenses
As lawmakers consider their next move on redistricting, the overall cost has ballooned to nearly $1.8 million, according to an accounting through April 19 provided by the Legislative Services Commission. The bulk of that expense has been charged to the Legislative Task Force on Redistricting, which has accounted for $983,283 going back to August of […]
‘Public safety’ measures that could expand cash bail racing through House
Legislation meant to reverse a state supreme court decision on how judges set bail is progressing rapidly in the Ohio House. The measures could make their way to the floor this week, despite being introduced just 10 days ago. The plan would direct judges to weigh public safety when determining the dollar value for bail. […]
Ohio Speaker Cupp gets nationally controversial, GOP-aligned mapmaker into redraw process
When Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp proposed Doug Johnson as an “independent mapmaker” to help draw the state’s new court-ordered congressional map, he described him as an long-time veteran who has worked on hundreds of maps and served as an expert witness in redistricting legislation. That barely begins to tell the story. Johnson is among […]